Importance of Bicycle Helmets in Preventing Major Personal Injuries

Even if California’s bicycle helmet law only covers riders 18-years-old and below, it is still a good idea to wear one to avoid serious head injuries during a bicycle accident.

Although bicycle helmets are not in any way a means to stop collisions and crashes, it can effectively mitigate the injuries that the crash would have caused if you are not wearing one.

As it was ingrained in your brain that you should wear a seatbelt while riding a car, the same should be said about wearing a helmet while riding a bike.

Injuries Avoided Through Helmet Use

As said before, helmets are not just for show, it helps you avoid some of the most dangerous head injuries that could cause disability or even death.

Here are some common head injuries associated to bicycle accidents:

• Skull fractures – This refers to a crack or a break on the cranium which causes it to break. Skull fractures usually heal by itself but the problem is that the fracture may damage the gray matter inside the skull. Surgery is often needed to repair fractured skull.


• Traumatic Brain injury – This is caused by high impact trauma to the head caused by accidents. This leads to severe nausea, dizziness, memory loss, headaches and other punishing effects. Victims of traumatic brain injuries or TBI often need lifetime medical care.


• Coma or Comatose – This is not really an injury but more like the effect of an injury. This refers to a profound state of unconsciousness where the patient cannot awaken, does not respond normally to pain, light or sound, does not take voluntary actions and does not have sleep-wake cycles. Usually needs to be treated in a hospital’s intensive care unit to find out what caused the condition.

Bicycle Safety Tips

Now that you know the importance of wearing helmets in mitigating injuries in a bicycle accident, here are other safety tips that you can do to avoid danger:

• Keep yourself visible – This is especially true at night. Some bicycle accidents occur because the car drivers claim that they did not see the bike before the collision. If you are riding a bike, wear bright colored shirts or better yet wear clothing that has reflectors on them. Use lighting devices on your bike like head and tail lights as well.


• Avoid blind spots – Always make sure that you are visible to the drivers around you. Avoid blind spots especially the sides of trucks and buses.


• Take the whole lane – Instead of sticking on the sides where cars and other vehicles could swipe you off the road. Treat your bike as any other vehicle and move in the middle of the lane.

If you have been injured because the other driver was negligent or reckless, you should consult a bicycle accident attorney to help you file a personal injury claim.